U.F.Orb

U.F.Orb
U.F.Orb
Studio album by the Orb
Released	6 July 1992
Recorded	Metalworks studio Toronto Canada 1991
Genre	Electronica; ambient house; dub; ambient techno;
Length	73:55
Label	Big Life
Producer	The Orb; Steve Hillage; Youth;
The Orb chronology

U.F.Orb is the second studio album by English electronic music group the Orb. It was released on 6 July 1992 as their last work with record label Big Life.^[1] Upon its release, the album reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart. The music database AllMusic described it as "the commercial and artistic peak of the ambient-house movement."^[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[3]
Entertainment Weekly	A^[4]
NME	9/10^[5]
Record Collector	^[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[7]
Select	5/5^[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	9/10^[9]
Uncut	^[10]
The Village Voice	B−^[11]

Background

Orb member Kris Weston integrated his technical and creative expertise with Alex Paterson's Eno-influenced ambience on U.F.Orb, creating "drum and bass rhythms" with "velvet keyboards" and "rippling synth lines".^[12] U.F.Orb reached number one on the UK Albums Chart to the shock of critics, who were surprised that fans had embraced what journalists considered to be progressive rock.^[13] Heavily influenced by the Orb and U.F.Orb in particular, many trip hop groups sprang up emulating the Orb's "chill-out blueprint".^[14] U.F.Orb expresses the Orb's fascination with alien life with its bizarre sound samples and in the album's title itself.^[15] The album's single, "Blue Room", is itself a reference to the supposed Blue Room of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which was investigated as a possible UFO evidence-holding room.^[16]

"Blue Room", a near 17-minute piece, features bass playing by Jah Wobble and guitar by coproducer Steve Hillage. The full version of the song is 40 minutes and was released as a single. The initial UK vinyl release featured a limited edition which came in a sealed blue heavy PVC cover and featured two art prints and a bonus 12-inch of the soundtrack to the film The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld: Patterns and Textures.

On 1 October 2007, the album was reissued on two CDs as part of Universal Music's "Collector's Series". All the tracks were remastered, and the release coincided with the 15th anniversary of the album's release. The second CD includes remixes from the singles released around the period of the original album.

Track listing

Original release

Big Life – BLRLP 18, 513 749-1
Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"O.O.B.E"	Alex Paterson, Kris Weston, Thomas Fehlmann	12:51
2.	"U.F.Orb"	Paterson, Weston	6:08

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blue Room"	Paterson, Weston, Miquette Giraudy, Steve Hillage, John Joseph Ward, Neil Fraser	17:34

Side three
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Towers of Dub"	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	14:58

Side four
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Close Encounters"	Paterson, Weston, Orde Meikle, Stuart McMillan	10:27
2.	"Majestic"	Paterson, Weston, Martin Glover	11:06
3.	"Sticky End"	Paterson, Weston	0:49
Total length:			1:13:55

1992 US double CD edition

Mercury – 314 513 749-2, Big Life – 314 513 749-2
Disc 1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"O.O.B.E"	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	12:51
2.	"U.F.Orb"	Paterson, Weston	6:08
3.	"Blue Room"	Paterson, Weston, Giraudy, Hillage, Ward, Fraser	17:34
4.	"Towers of Dub"	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	15:00
5.	"Close Encounters"	Paterson, Weston, Meikle, McMillan	10:27
6.	"Majestic"	Paterson, Weston, Glover	11:06
7.	"Sticky End"	Paterson, Weston	0:49

Disc 2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Blue Room" (Edit)	Paterson, Weston, Giraudy, Hillage, Ward, Fraser	3:09
2.	"Blue Room" (Remix)	Paterson, Weston, Giraudy, Hillage, Ward, Fraser	7:37
3.	"Assassin" (The Oasis of Rhythms Mix)	Paterson, Weston, Lewis Keogh	15:14
4.	"Blue Room" (Full Length)	Paterson, Weston, Giraudy, Hillage, Ward, Fraser	40:00
Total length:			2:19:55

15th anniversary edition

Universal Music – 5300703
Disc 1 – *Orbit One: U.F.Orb Remastered*
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"O.O.B.E"	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	12:51
2.	"U.F.Orb"	Paterson, Weston	6:08
3.	"Blue Room"	Paterson, Weston, Giraudy, Hillage, Ward, Fraser	17:34
4.	"Towers of Dub"	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	15:00
5.	"Close Encounters"	Paterson, Weston, Meikle, McMillan	10:27
6.	"Majestic"	Paterson, Weston, Glover	11:06
7.	"Sticky End"	Paterson, Weston	0:49

Disc 2 – *Orbit Two: Remixes*
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"O.O.B.E" (Andy Hughes Mix)	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	11:58
2.	"Towers of Dub" (Ambient Mix)	Paterson, Weston, Fehlmann	10:14
3.	"Blue Room" (Ambient at Mark Angelo's Mix)	Paterson, Weston, Giraudy, Hillage, Ward, Fraser	8:57
4.	"Close Encounters" (Ambient Mix 1)	Paterson, Weston, Meikle, McMillan	12:49
5.	"Majestic" (Mix 1)	Paterson, Weston, Glover	11:52
6.	"Assassin" (Chocolate Hills of Bohol Mix)	Paterson, Weston, Keogh	11:06
Total length:			2:24:22

References

^ ^a ^b Redmond, Steve, ed. (20 June 1992). "Chart Newcomers: The Orb" (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications. p. 9.
^ ^a ^b Bush, John. "U.F.Orb – The Orb". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
^ Svetkey, Benjamin (4 December 1992). "u.f.orb". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
^ George, Iestyn (7 April 1992). "The Orb – UF Orb". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^ Grady, Spencer (December 2007). "The Orb – UFOrb". Record Collector. No. 343. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
^ Wolk, Douglas (2004). "The Orb". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 604–05. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ Perry, Andrew (August 1992). "The Orb: U F Orb". Select. No. 26. p. 96.
^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
^ "The Orb: U.F.Orb". Uncut. 2007. Peppered with surreal humour, hypnotic sound paintings like 'Close Encounters' and Top 10 single 'Blue Room' have barely dated.
^ Christgau, Robert (23 November 1993). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
^ Prendergast, Mark (2003). The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby-The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. pp. 407–412. ISBN 1-58234-323-3.
^ Sullivan, Caroline (9 April 1993). "Breakdown". The Guardian.
^ Shapiro, Peter (1999). The Rough Guide to Drum 'n' Bass. Rough Guides. pp. 327–329. ISBN 1-85828-433-3.
^ Holthouse, David (24 April 1997). "Eye of the Orb". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
^ Sandall, Robert (12 July 1992). "Hippie dippie draw". The Times.

External links

U.F.Orb at Discogs

[MwJun92-1] Redmond, Steve, ed. (20 June 1992). "Chart Newcomers: The Orb" (PDF). Music Week. London: Spotlight Publications. p. 9.

[Bush-2] Bush, John. "U.F.Orb – The Orb". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 November 2015.

[3] Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.

[4] Svetkey, Benjamin (4 December 1992). "u.f.orb". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 August 2009.

[5] George, Iestyn (7 April 1992). "The Orb – UF Orb". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 20 November 2015.

[6] Grady, Spencer (December 2007). "The Orb – UFOrb". Record Collector. No. 343. Retrieved 20 November 2015.

[7] Wolk, Douglas (2004). "The Orb". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 604–05. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.

[8] Perry, Andrew (August 1992). "The Orb: U F Orb". Select. No. 26. p. 96.

[9] Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

[10] "The Orb: U.F.Orb". Uncut. 2007. Peppered with surreal humour, hypnotic sound paintings like 'Close Encounters' and Top 10 single 'Blue Room' have barely dated.

[Christgau-11] Christgau, Robert (23 November 1993). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 5 July 2013.

[century-12] Prendergast, Mark (2003). The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby-The Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. pp. 407–412. ISBN 1-58234-323-3.

[guardian-breakdown-13] Sullivan, Caroline (9 April 1993). "Breakdown". The Guardian.

[rough-14] Shapiro, Peter (1999). The Rough Guide to Drum 'n' Bass. Rough Guides. pp. 327–329. ISBN 1-85828-433-3.

[phoenix-15] Holthouse, David (24 April 1997). "Eye of the Orb". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

[times-hippie-16] Sandall, Robert (12 July 1992). "Hippie dippie draw". The Times.

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